Before civil registration began in 1864, parish registers are virtually the only direct source of family information. The National Library of Ireland has digitised microfilm of the parish registers online, about 1740 to 1880, and the Irish Genealogy website has Roman Catholic records for Dublin City, Kerry, Cork and Ross.
Last checked: November 2026. Every fact below links to the official page it came from. This page gives no fees or waiting times; follow the links for those.
What Roman Catholic records are on the Irish Genealogy website?
Four areas. Transcripts of baptism and marriage records for the Diocese of Kerry up to about 1900, a diocese that includes parishes in the west and north-west of County Cork. All Roman Catholic baptism, marriage and burial registers for Dublin City (some in transcript only up to about 1900, and some with record images to about 1880; St Paul’s, Arran Quay is not included). All Roman Catholic baptism, marriage and burial registers for the Diocese of Cork and Ross, with record images to about 1880; some Cork city parishes (St Mary and St Anne, St Patrick’s and Blackrock) are not online. Source: Irish Genealogy: record sources.
What is on the National Library of Ireland site?
The National Library of Ireland has digitised microfilm copies of the original parish registers, about 1740 to 1880, online. It also holds microfilm of almost all Roman Catholic parish registers from before 1880, on the island of Ireland. The Irish Genealogy page says access is free and print-outs are allowed.
Where are the transcripts for other counties?
RootsIreland.ie has transcripts, without record images, of most of the Roman Catholic records on the island for areas other than those above. Only a small proportion of records are transcribed for Donegal, Monaghan and Wexford, and none of the transcribed Clare records are online. Each area on the site has a sources list, so check what is being searched. Check RootsIreland for its current access terms.
FamilySearch is free and has transcripts, without images, of about 30 Roman Catholic parishes, mostly in Kerry, Cork and Roscommon. Ancestry.co.uk, a subscription site, has transcripts of the Diocese of Meath registers up to 1880, about 40 parishes.
Can I ask the parish itself?
Most local Roman Catholic parishes do not permit research on their original records. Requests are often referred to heritage centres, whose records are mostly on RootsIreland. Contact details for parishes are at CatholicIreland.net.
What will a record tell me?
Baptism records generally give the date, the child, the parents and the sponsors or godparents. Marriage records generally give the date, the spouses and the witnesses. Roman Catholic burial registers may hold very little, and many parishes had no burial register before 1900. Names are transcribed as written, so try spelling variants, and watch for Latin first names such as Jacobus for James. Source: Irish Genealogy: church records help.
Common questions
Are Irish Catholic parish registers online? Yes, in part. The National Library of Ireland has digitised microfilm of parish registers, about 1740 to 1880, and the Irish Genealogy website has registers for Dublin City, Kerry and Cork and Ross.
Which counties have few transcripts on RootsIreland? According to the Irish Genealogy website, only a small proportion of records are transcribed for Donegal, Monaghan and Wexford, and none of the transcribed Clare records are online.
More from us on this
This page is part of Irish family records by county.